Research methods for the empirical investigation of the process of formation of operations strategy

Does organizational readiness matter in lean thinking practices? An agency perspective

Purpose

Extant research documents the importance of lean thinking for organizations, however, as prior research has largely focused on hard lean practices, but little is known about the effects or the significance of soft lean practices. This research attempts to address this issue by examining how soft lean practices enhance organizational lean readiness, and in turn increase the success of lean implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopts a single case study design in a small-medium enterprise livestock feed manufacturing organization, and investigates the period from late 2011 through the end of 2019 covering two attempts at lean implementation – an initial failed attempt followed by a successful introduction of lean within the case organization. The research analyzes interviews with 29 managers and employees from all organizational levels and departments within the case organization. Secondary data including organizational documents and performance measures and metrics were also incorporated into the research design.

Findings

Drawing on agency theory, the authors advance a principal-agent interaction perspective to conceptualize organizational lean readiness – specifically, the authors consider the “state or condition” of four agency factors (goal conflict, information asymmetry, risk aversion and length of relationship), and explore if these four agency factors can be utilized as proxies for organizational readiness for lean implementation. The authors identify the formation of a shared vision and identity within the organization as an effective mechanism through which soft lean practices enhance organizational lean readiness. Finally, the analysis offers an understanding of how the long-term success of lean implementation is improved by the introduction of soft lean practices as a prerequisite to create organizational readiness for the implementation of hard lean practices.

Originality/value

The study is unique in the sense that it empirically links agency theory and the role of soft lean practices in developing organizational lean readiness in a small-medium enterprise context by defining the ideal state of four agency factors as proxies for organizational readiness.

The interplay between industry 4.0 maturity of manufacturing processes and performance measurement and management in SMEs

Purpose

This paper proposes an SME oriented Industry 4.0 maturity framework to explore the interplay between manufacturing processes, performance measurement system and management practices (PMM). Given that the fourth industrial revolution, famously referred to as Industry 4.0, is a new paradigm for manufacturing firms, it is crucial to know the ‘as-is’ state or maturity of SMEs' manufacturing processes and link it with their PMM. Despite the availability of numerous maturity models, no previous study has tried to link the maturity of manufacturing processes with performance measurement and management.

Design/methodology/approach

Due to the exploratory nature of the study and the lack of theoretical base for Industry 4.0 maturity and PMM interaction, especially in the SME context, a multiple case study approach has been adopted due to its robustness and effectiveness under such circumstances.

Findings

There is a strong interplay between the maturity of manufacturing processes and PMM. The firms that have invested in their manufacturing processes have also developed performance measurements. Overall, performance measurement is more developed than performance management practices.

Originality/value

The characteristics of the interplay between the maturity of manufacturing processes and PMM are summarized in three main propositions. Moreover, the study provides practitioners with an assessment framework to help SMEs evaluate the current state of their manufacturing processes and PMM to highlight the areas of improvement towards the I4.0 expedition.

Scaling up and scaling down supply chains in volatile resource-based economies

The growth of mobile workforces to support diversified resource extraction activities, compared to historically single-industry towns, represents a key change in rural and remote resource landscapes that has accelerated since the 1980s. Mobile workforces can present many opportunities to rural communities and economies. However, the capacity, viability and competitiveness of rural-based businesses to engage in supply chains serving mobile labour may be undermined by limited attention to how businesses manoeuvre downturns while maintaining a level of readiness to recover and scale-up in order to meet emerging mobile workforce needs. Drawing upon interviews with businesses in Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, our research uses the concept of resiliency to examine challenges and strategies associated with business capacity and agility to scale-up and scale-down in response to changing economic conditions associated with large-scale mobile workforces and related economic sectors. Our findings suggest that the capacity to scale-up and scale-down is shaped by capital, human resource and infrastructure strategies, inventory management and contract management strategies. Industry and state policies may also play a role supporting the conditions that will improve the agility, capacity and readiness of businesses operating in volatile resource-based economies.

Organizational Re-Design for Business Model Innovation while Exploiting Digital Technologies: A Single Case Study of an Energy Company

Digital technologies are bringing a wide spectrum of business opportunities as well as significant organizational challenges for incumbent companies operating in traditional industries such as the energy one. The diffusion of new technologies is changing the way energy solutions are consumed and experienced, while consumers increasingly take ownership of their consumption, acting as “prosumers”. In this evolving scenario, incumbents are urged to reshape their business models, explore new opportunities and change their organizational structures accordingly. Still, the required organizational re-design process that enables companies to undergo business model innovation (BMI) while exploiting digital technologies is partially neglected in literature. Hence, this study explores how established companies embrace organizational re-design process to innovate their business model. To this end, we leverage a single case study methodology focused on an incumbent energy company. Our findings show how the establishment of a business unit dedicated to digital technologies exploitation has enabled the company’s BMI. More specifically, we point at the critical role played by the know-how and the industrial capabilities to sustain not only the innovation activities of the new business unit, but also the overall company performance and the shift towards a renewed business model.

The role of risk management in buyer-supplier relationships with a preferred customer status for total quality management

Purpose

This paper provides a comprehensive risk management framework for buyer-supplier relationships where the buyer has the status of a preferred customer with the supplier.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical evidence is offered with a case study on a large multinational organization in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, with some real-life perspectives on the main risks, mitigation strategies, and issues faced when applying the risk management framework.

Findings

The results show that several risks may affect buyer-supplier relationships: not only traditional supply risks but also risks linked to specific initiatives and/or relationships, as well as risks specific to buyer-supplier relationships with a preferred customer status. Customer attractiveness and supplier satisfaction are found as core drivers for the mitigation strategies, which are built to protect the relationship with the supplier, rather than the buying firm alone, knowing that being a preferred customer with preferential resources allocation may increase a firm’s competitive advantage.

Originality/value

The research brings important contributions to the academic literature and interesting insights to strategic purchasing practitioners, by enhancing the existing knowledge on supply risk management in buyer-supplier relationships with a preferred customer status, as well as providing strategic purchasing practitioners a comprehensive view of the risks, which may affect the relationships with a preferred customer status, as well as possible ways to mitigate them.

How do national cultures impact the operations strategy process?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent to which different patterns of cross-functional integration and the operations strategy (OS) process may be explained by national cultures differences.

Design/methodology/approach

Perceptual survey data from 105 manufacturing plants in four countries were used to validate the constructs and to test the hypotheses. The plants are located in two Western and two Eastern countries with different industrialization and development backgrounds (Brazil, China, Germany and South Korea). CFA validated the constructs, and ANOVA and t-tests evaluated the differences between levels of four Hofstede’s elements (i.e. power distance, individualism vs collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and long-term vs short-term orientation) on the OS process enablers (i.e. leadership for cross-functional integration and functional integration) and elements (i.e. manufacturing strategy linkage to corporate strategy and formulation of manufacturing strategy).

Findings

Results suggest that different OS and OM processes are present in different national cultures. Leadership for cross-functional integration and manufacturing strategy linkage to corporate strategy differ between levels of power distance, individualism vs collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. Functional integration and formulation of manufacturing strategy also present differences according to the degree of individualism vs collectivism and long-term orientation.

Originality/value

Results indicate that national culture is a key aspect for the OS process. Prior studies usually do not consider cultural aspects. Therefore, the OS process varies in different countries and contexts. Managers need to adjust their OS process when they are developing a global OS.

Rising utilization of inpatient pediatric asthma pathways

INTRODUCTION

Clinical pathways are detailed care plans that operationalize evidence-based guidelines into an accessible format for health providers. Their goal is to link evidence to practice to optimize patient outcomes and delivery efficiency. It is unknown to what extent inpatient pediatric asthma pathways are being utilized nationally.

OBJECTIVES

(1) Describe inpatient pediatric asthma pathway design and implementation across a large hospital network. (2) Compare characteristics of hospitals with and without pathways.

METHODS

We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional, survey study of hospitals in the Pediatric Research in Inpatient Settings Network (75% children's hospitals, 25% community hospitals). Our survey determined if each hospital used a pathway and pathway characteristics (e.g. pathway elements, implementation methods). Hospitals with and without pathways were compared using Chi-square tests (categorical variables) and Student's t-tests (continuous variables).

RESULTS

Surveys were distributed to 3-5 potential participants from each hospital and 302 (74%) participants responded, representing 86% (106/123) of surveyed hospitals. From 2005-2015, the proportion of hospitals utilizing inpatient asthma pathways increased from 27% to 86%. We found variation in pathway elements, implementation strategies, electronic medical record integration, and compliance monitoring across hospitals. Hospitals with pathways had larger inpatient pediatric programs [mean 12.1 versus 6.1 full-time equivalents, p = 0.04] and were more commonly free-standing children's hospitals (52% versus 23%, p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

From 2005-2015, there was a dramatic rise in implementation of inpatient pediatric asthma pathways. We found variation in many aspects of pathway design and implementation. Future studies should determine optimal implementation strategies to better support hospital-level efforts in improving pediatric asthma care and outcomes.